Jungle Karma Pizza Specials
by JDPhoenix
Summary: Every Special comes with a free order of Cheesy Serendipity Bread!
1. Super Veggie Pizza of Doom

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I associated with, Power Rangers.

AN: I suppose this is my new project. The Holiday Chaos of 2008, you could say. I have at least three more specials planned, so stay tuned for those.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**1: Super Veggie Pizza of Doom**

**by JDPhoenix**

Theo hated dishes. He almost found himself thinking that the world would be a better place if people just ate off of tables, then he looked at the table and began scrubbing harder. He handed the plate to Casey, who dried it and handed to Lily, who happily danced across the room and dropped it on top of the pile of plates.

"How can you be happy?" Theo asked, glaring at her.

Fran grunted and said, "I don't see why you're complaining." She dug her elbow into the large wad of pizza dough RJ had asked her to knead.

At just that moment RJ walked serenely down the stairs. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Casey said quickly. He elbowed Theo as he passed Lily another plate. "We don't want to get _more_ work," he hissed.

Theo rolled his eyes but stayed silent.

"Oh, come on," RJ said. "You know you can tell me anything. This is a free communication zone."

"Well, RJ," Lily said, "I've been wondering, how did you handle things before we came along?"

RJ walked around the table, hands folded. "I stayed calm, meditating before each rush. So long as I kept centered, I was able to handle any obstacle."

"He had other employees," Fran said, throwing the dough down with a satisfying thump.

RJ wilted amid his students' giggles, then stood straight. "And they didn't give me any sass."

"Yes, they did."

RJ turned to glare at Fran, who ducked her head. "But they did excellent work. They cleaned the whole place in less than half an hour, they always came in on time, they made the best pizzas."

"They did!" Fran said, smiling. "I remember their Super Veggie Pizza of Doom." She swooned slightly. "Why don't you make that anymore?"

"Because they never told me how," RJ said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter where Fran was working. The Rangers looked at each other. It was rare to see RJ so disgruntled. "When they were here, I could sit upstairs almost all day. But when they left --"

Lily leaned forward, her eyes widening when she saw a single tear rolling down RJ's cheek.

"Why," Casey asked carefully, "did they leave?"

RJ shook his head. "I don't know. One day they just came in and told me that they were quitting." He sniffed and his voice took on a frighteningly high pitch. "And then they were gone." He sighed and looked around as if seeing the Rangers for the first time. "Oh, but I don't know how I would have managed if you three -- four!" he added, turning to Fran, "hadn't come along. I might have had to close down. Now get back to work. Chop chop!"

He rushed back up the stairs.

Lily turned to the boys. "We are the worst employees ever!"

"What?" Casey asked.

"His old employees were perfect and now he's just got us."

Theo scoffed, "We're not so bad."

"Well," Fran said, "you do disappear a lot -- and I'm not so experienced."

"But neither are we!" Lily said. "What are we going to do?"

"Not disappear," Fran muttered.

"What?" Theo asked.

"Nothing!" she said brightly, getting back to kneading.

"We have to work harder," Lily said.

"We work hard enough as it is," Theo said.

"It's been over an hour since closing and we still haven't finished cleaning up, RJ's old employees did it in half an hour."

"It's not possible to clean this whole place in half an hour with only four people. Fran," Theo called, "how many old employees did RJ have?"

"Two."

"Oh."

"Lily's right, Theo," Casey said. "We spend so much time worrying about _our other job_," he hissed, his voice dropping low, "that we forget about all we have to do for this one." He squared his jaw. "Fran, go home. We'll finish the prep for tomorrow."

"A- are you sure? Because I can --"

"Go home, Fran. We'll be fine."

"Okay," she said uncertainly, untying her apron. "Bye, guys." She hurried out the door before Casey could change his mind.

"Casey!" Theo cried.

"No, this is a matter of pride." He walked purposefully to the oven and picked up the cat shaped timer, holding it out for them to see. He turned the pointer to the thirty minute mark. "Let's go."

Lily nodded and rushed to work. Casey glared at Theo who threw up his arms and resumed washing.

* * *

RJ sat in his chair, thinking about Trixie and Jim. They'd spent so much time bickering, but he could always see the love underneath. And they were such good employees! How could they just leave him? Truthfully, he was lucky the Rangers showed up when they did, otherwise he would have had to deal with the long parade of teens who thought they could handle a job at Jungle Karma Pizza. The phone trilled annoyingly. RJ quickly grabbed it before it could ring again.

"Hello?"

"_RJ!_"

RJ sat up straight causing the back of the chair to slam into his back. He winced and cried, "Trixie! Speak of the devil! I was just telling the kids about you. What happened to you guys?"

"_RJ_," Trixie said quietly, "_there's something I have to tell you_."

Jim called out in the background, "_Tell him I said 'hi.'_"

"_Quiet!_"

RJ smiled. He missed their bickering.

"_We should have told you sooner. We -- we're -_-"

"_Oh! Let me do it._"

"_No! I can handle this. RJ, we're -- bad._"

"What?" RJ asked, completely confused.

There was a muffled sound that RJ assumed was Jim grabbing the phone away from Trixie, then a beep.

"_You're on speaker phone_," Jim said.

"Listen," RJ said, cutting them off, "Trixie, Jim -- you don't owe me any explanation."

"_My name's not Trixie_."

"Thank God. I was seriously beginning to worry about your parents."

"_We don't have parents_," Jim said.

"Well, I- I'm sorry about that. You never told me."

"_RJ_," Jim said slowly. "_Do you remember a few years ago, when there were rumors of Power Rangers in Turtle Cove?_"

"Yeah," RJ said slowly.

"_We were there_."

"Are you saying that you were Power Rangers?" That was just too much coincidence: two sets of rangers working in his restaurant? Too weird.

"_No!_" the two cried quickly.

"_We were there to fight them_," Trixie said.

"You were Orgs." RJ nodded in understanding even though they couldn't see him. He had always wondered why his employees seemed so determined to do everything right. They were trying to prove themselves.

"_Yes. We would have told you, but -- we didn't want you to worry. We would never have hurt you_."

"Oh, I know that."

"_You may say that now_," Jim said, "_but if we were still there -- you might not be so quick to forgive_."

"Dudes, you weren't the only ones keeping secrets. I, myself, am a Pai Zhuq master. If there was any evil left in you, I would have sensed it."

"_Really?_" Trixie asked.

"_Wait_," Jim said, "_does that mean you know the new Power Rangers?_"

"Not necessarily," RJ said. "Why did you guys leave?"

Trixie sighed. "_We sensed a great evil force released nearby. We felt it best to -- get out of Dodge, so to speak_."

"Good idea, they may have seen you as a threat if they recognized you." Part of the reason the Dai Shi had failed to conquer the world so many ages ago was the complicated war. It wasn't just the Dai Shi against the Pai Zhuq, but the Dai Shi against the Orgs against the warriors of Animaria.

"_That's what we thought_."

"Hey, what are your real names anyway?"

"_Toxica_."

"_Jindrax_."

"Coo--" There was a crash downstairs. "Listen, guys, I have to go. Stay safe, okay?"

"_You too_," Toxica said.

"_Bye, RJ!_" Jindrax called enthusiastically.

RJ hung up the phone and rushed down to the restaurant. He only made it halfway down the stairs before he slipped, grasping the railing for balance and managing to hold himself up just inches from the wet step. He looked around, eyes wide. Absolutely everything was covered in pizza sauce. He slowly stood and looked out into the kitchen. Theo was sitting against the wall beside the door, staring into space and absently wiping sticky strands of sauce covered cheese off his pants. Lily was hanging upside down from the pot rack, sauce dripping from her hair. Casey was stomach down on the countertop, and looked like an extra from a cheap horror movie.

"What happened?" RJ asked.

Lily looked over at him, the pots rattling when she moved. RJ smirked, he could see her blush through the sauce. "We were trying to match your old employees' clean up time."

The oven timer chose just that moment to roar, startling Theo back into reality and waking Casey up with such a start that he leapt up to join Lily on the pot rack. The two looked at each other for a horrifying moment while RJ stood frozen in place, trying to force his mind to work, but it was too late. The ceiling cracked above them and the whole pot rack came down, rangers and all. Lily and Casey moaned in pain, since they had taken the brunt of the fall. RJ and Theo raced to help them.

"My back," Casey moaned. They'd fallen on the kitchen's island, and the edge of it had hit the middle of his back. Theo and RJ lifted the pot rack and discarded it on the floor. Casey rolled off the counter and fell ungracefully to the floor, making a splattering sound in the sauce.

"My spleen," Lily said, clutching her side.

"Wrong side," Theo said.

Lily glared, a soft growl coming from deep in her throat.

"Take it back, man," Casey advised.

"I repeat," RJ said, "what happened?"

Theo looked sadly down at his friends. Their injuries meant he had to explain. "We were working so quickly, we forgot to keep an eye on the sauce."

Lily snapped, "It didn't help that you threw a towel on the stove."

"Yeah," Casey said, "the extra fuel overheated the sauce and it exploded."

RJ, ever the peacemaker, said, "At least the raining sauce put the fire out."

The three glared -- at least he assumed Casey was glaring, he couldn't see him over the island.

"Listen, guys, you don't have to be as good as my old employees. You're not them. Trust me, it's better that you're not. As far as I'm concerned, as long as you do your best to keep Fran from feeling like the only employee, I'm good."

"Really?" Theo asked.

"Really."

"I told you!" Theo cried, kicking Casey's foot.

"Guys!" RJ yelled before they could start fighting. "Why don't you all help each other upstairs and get cleaned up? I'll deal with this."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Really. Now, get."

Theo helped Lily off the counter and the two helped Casey to his feet. Somehow they managed to stumble up the slippery stairs together. RJ shook his head. He didn't care if they were super powerful warriors in the war between good and evil, he missed Toxica and Jindrax.


	2. Red Special

AN: If certain rumors about the season's future turn out to be true, this chapter will be (slightly) amended.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**2: Red Special**

**by JDPhoenix**

The final customers slipped out the door and Fran sighed with relief. The others had left -- again -- and she was happy that the rush had ended prematurely. She quickly began wiping down the tables in case anyone else came in. All the extra work was worth it though, she thought. Most customers saw her struggling and gave her generous tips. Her college fund was growing quite nicely.

The door dinged pleasantly and Fran's eyes widened. She whirled around. "Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, table for --" She paused, her fake smile fading. More than a dozen young men of various ages had just walked in. They were probably part of some sports team since they all wore red. She hated sports teams. They didn't tip well and they made her life generally unbearable.

"Several tables, then," she amended.

"If it's not too much trouble," one of the older ones said, stepping forward and smiling down at her. She blushed.

"Knock it off, Rocky," another said, pulling the first man back. This one was bald and looked very, very familiar, though she couldn't place him. He leant in close as if they were surrounded by strangers instead of his friends. "Can we, um, close down for the day? We'll pay you back."

The one wearing a beret yelled, "Not with my money!"

Another one answered, "You're the richest one here!"

"Mack's rich too, and he's the new kid!" the beret one said.

"Not a chance!" one of the youngest of the men snapped. He was already sitting at a booth, perusing the menu.

"But you'll eat more than any of us," another with sandy blond hair said. This one held himself like RJ, with a quiet grace that spoke of great power.

"No," yet another said, "Rocky will." This one stepped away from the group to lounge in the booth and Fran almost told him to take his sword outside, then decided it was pointless.

"Guys!" the bald one bellowed. "I am trying to talk to the lady."

There were several jeers and catcalls before the others quieted down.

"Listen," he continued, "some of us are sort of -- well-known -- and we'd prefer some privacy."

The one with striped hair said, "You just don't want anyone to see your punishment."

The bald one tensed, but didn't turn to face his antagonizer. "Please?" he said. "We'll make it up to you financially."

Fran's shoulders sagged. "Sure," she said with a slight smile. "Let me go tell my boss." She walked calmly into the kitchen. Once she was past the swinging doors her face broke out into a huge smile. Only one set of customers instead of the usual fifty and she'd get paid just as much? This was the best day of work since that one day three weeks ago when the others hadn't had to run off anywhere. She raced up the steps, only realizing when she opened RJ's door where she'd seen that man before.

When she slammed into the loft, RJ jumped, grabbing the blanket from the back of his chair as if it could protect him. "Fran!" he snapped when he saw her, "what have I told you --?"

"There are Power Rangers downstairs!" she gasped and raced back down the steps.

RJ looked at his television sets. The rangers were fighting at the rock quarry -- why they'd gone to the rock quarry he'd never know -- so who was downstairs? He tensed. Dai Shi had been able to take on a form very similar to a ranger's, it was possible that he was the one down there. RJ leapt to his feet, throwing off his blanket in a pure superhero pose. He paused only a moment, reveling in how cool he must look, before racing to the restaurant. He didn't bother with the stairs, instead leaping over them and through the swinging doors. Fran was standing in the middle of a sea of red, taking orders.

"RJ!" one of the men yelled.

"Hunter!" RJ cried, his previous worry gone.

The two embraced, laughing.

"How have you been?" RJ asked.

"The usual; you know, saved the world, took a teaching job."

"I hear that."

"What?"

"Didn't you here? Master Mao died."

"No," Hunter gasped, taking a step back. "I knew Dai Shi was back, but I never thought --"

"Neither did I, until three of his students showed up on my doorstep. Apparently I'm the next best choice."

"Well, that's ironic."

"Tell me about it."

Hunter looked at Fran, taking orders. "Wait, are you saying that she's --?"

"No! No," RJ said, "she's a local girl. I hired her after my last two employees quit and I realized that the cubs weren't going to be the most steady workers in the world."

"Yeah, I remember working and saving the world, I do not recommend it."

"Hey," RJ said, "are there any Wild Force rangers here, I want to talk to them."

"Why?"

"My old employees were a couple of Orgs."

"No," Hunter said with a smile.

"I know, I had no idea."

"Cole!" Hunter called and the man with the longest hair looked up. He was trapped in a booth with Mack, Rocky, and Nick. When Fran's back was turned he leapt over the table, swung from one of the overhead lights, and landed beside Hunter.

Before RJ could say anything, Fran ran over.

"RJ," she said, pushing him behind the counter while smiling at the customers. "RJ," she hissed, when they were out of hearing range, "I know they're superheroes and all, but they want me to make a really weird pizza."

"Fran, you know the old saying: the customer is always right."

"Yes, but you said that the customer was only right until they asked for a travesty to the culinary arts."

"What could they possibly --"

Fran reached into her apron and pulled out a red ranger action figure. "They want me to bake this into the pizza."

RJ took the action figure. "Listen, why don't you get started on the other pizzas and I'll talk to them."

"Okay," Fran said, hurrying into the kitchen. She ducked her head out a second later. "And RJ? Don't let them run off to save the world before I can get their autographs."

"Sure thing," RJ said. He turned back to the group and held up the action figure, calling, "Guys! What's up with --"

RJ was promptly tackled by three of the men.

"Dude!" Hunter said. RJ was shocked that the man was indignant when it was his fat butt that was crushing RJ's leg.

Andros, who was climbing off of RJ's chest, said, "TJ lost a bet, his punishment is the pizza."

"How is that a punishment?"

Andros, Hunter, and Mack -- who was sitting on RJ's arm -- looked at each other. "He hasn't told you?" Mack asked.

RJ peered up at Mack, his head still ringing. "You're the new kid, aren't you?"

"Technically," Mack said, holding out a hand to help him up, "your Red's the new kid now."

"That's part of why we came here," Hunter said as RJ wiped himself off, "to scope him out. When do you think he'll be --"

"No!" RJ snapped so loudly that all other conversation ceased.

He looked over his shoulder, waiting until he heard the oven opening and closing in the kitchen before pushing the three rangers back to the tables. "Okay," he hissed, "here's the thing, Casey's pretty inexperienced. He's got the skill and he's determined, but he was only a cub for a week before he got sent to me. I don't want you all giving him the wrong ideas, making him think this is all a game, or worse, making him feel inadequate."

The men looked at one another, then burst out laughing.

"Man," Rocky said, "you just described every Red there ever was -- except for the cub part."

"We'll leave him alone," Jason said, "but once you guys save the world, you send him to us."

"Yeah," Eric said wickedly, "for the initiation."

Several of the men got mischevious gleams in their eyes. Nick and Mack writhed a bit in their seats.

"I don't want to know," RJ said finally. "I'll go help Fran with your pizzas. Hey," he said, pausing behind the counter, "aren't there supposed to be more of you?"

"Well," Leo said, "Aurico sort of stands out in a crowd and after the whole Moon/Serpentera fiasco, he's sworn off all human Red Ranger bonding."

"And," Tommy said, "Conner's helping his brother out with something. Apparently family comes before hanging out with your childhood heroes."

"Wait," Hunter said, "that's not right. Shane's off grading the Wind Academy's survival test and this should be Eric's year to take it."

"Maybe Conner's there for moral support."

"There is **no** moral support on this test. You go out into the wilderness alone, face the fury of the elements, and if you survive you get to graduate."

"Shane never did that," Nick said.

"That's because he saved the world."

"Whatever," RJ said. "Try not to destroy the place." He scooped the red ranger action figure off the floor as he walked into the kitchen. He walked past Fran, dropping it into the pizza she was topping. "Give them whatever they want. And," he added darkly, "if the others come back, don't let them talk to Casey."

"Okay," Fran said uncertainly.

RJ hurried up the stairs. He'd been so happy to see Hunter again that he'd completely forgotten about his own rangers. He didn't even remember them until he opened the door. The Rangers were standing there, each covered in mud, and each very, very unhappy.

"Guys!" he said with a smile. "How did you do?"

"We won," Lily said with more attitude than RJ would normally have tolerated, "but first we got beat."

"Or couldn't you tell?" Theo added.

Casey stayed silent. He was backing slowly away from the others, giving RJ the "be quiet" sign behind their backs.

RJ bit back a smile. "I know," he said to the others, "and I'm sorry." Casey disappeared into the bathroom. The other two turned when they heard the door lock.

"Casey!" Lily cried, running and throwing herself at the door. It didn't budge and the shower was already pounding in the background.

"It's okay," RJ said.

"Speak for yourself," Theo said. "You're not covered head to toe in mud and monster goo."

"Guys," RJ said, "I need you to keep Casey up here. He cannot go down to the restaurant."

"Why can't Casey go downstairs?" Theo asked.

"Um -- because I'm the master and you're the cubs, that's why!"

"Don't you need our help?" Lily asked hesitantly; RJ had never been so -- mean.

"No," RJ said kindly, "it's just one party. They've taken over the restaurant. Fran and I can handle it. You three rest up."

Before they could argue he hurried back down. Fran was just carrying two pizzas out. "Those three too," she said. RJ quickly grabbed them up and carried them out after her.

TJ groaned when Fran set his pizza down in front of him. It was the one that the action figure was baked into. It had melted, but retained its general shape.

"Eat it!" Rocky yelled and the others quickly joined him in the chant.

TJ slowly lifted up the piece with the smallest amount of plastic on it. He got it halfway to his mouth before pausing. "Are you guys sure this is safe?" he asked.

Mack said, "That action figure is held to the highest industry standards. It's even infant safe."

Eric asked, "Your dad owns the factory where it was made, doesn't he?"

TJ closed his eyes and the pizza made it three-quarters of the way to his mouth before he paused. "But I'm sure no one's ever _eaten_ it before."

"Don't be a baby," Andros said, "DECA can give you something for any horrible disease it might give you."

TJ winced and took a bite. The others erupted into pleased yells while Fran rushed into the kitchen, she really didn't want to see someone throw up.

"The whole thing," Andros said happily. "That's what happens when you bet against the Panthers."

TJ said something that sounded like a particularly nasty curse, but it was muffled so it could just as easily been the more fitting, "Panthers suck."

RJ really felt for the guy. He could hear the crunching of the plastic from several feet away.

"RJ?" Theo called from the kitchen. RJ whirled to see Theo and Lily peering over the swinging door.

"Out!" RJ called. "Out! Out! Out!" He ran at them, frightening them up the stairs. When he turned back to the room of Red Rangers, Jason clapped him on the shoulder.

"You get used to it," he said.

"I need to meditate."

"Talk to Rocky. He somehow manages to meditate while going a thousand miles an hour."

"Rocky?" RJ asked.

Jason nodded.

"The guy who didn't go to the Moon?"

Tommy came over to them, laughing. "He was the sane one. None of the other Rangers would talk to us for a month afterward. Cole's team only put up with him after it because they were still active."

"See," RJ said, "this is why I took up a life of materialism. Saving the world is great and all, but you people are just too insane."

"We are not insane," Wes said.

"And if we are," Eric added, "we were crazy before we were rangers."

RJ stared at them all for a moment. "What self-respecting girl would marry a guy who wears spandex and who tried to kill her?"

"That's the girls," Mack said.

"And the killing was due to an evil spell," Carter said, "everyone knows that."

RJ smiled, "This coming from the android and the guy whose brother-in-law was not under a spell or any other form of coercion."

"Not an android anymore!" Mack said.

"And Ryan was _raised_ to hate his father, that was totally coercion."

"All right," RJ said, grabbing a trashcan and handing it to Leo in case TJ, who was continuing to eat, lost his battle of wills with his stomach. "What kind of man bases important life decisions on color? What kind of man eats a pizza with an action figure in it? What kind of man achieved his greatest accomplishments before the age of thirty?"

There was a moment of silence in the room. They could hear Fran humming to herself in the back and Theo and Lily fighting over who got the bathroom next upstairs.

"That was low," Nick said.

"Yeah," Tommy added, "and anyway, we'll probably be saving the world when we're eighty, so there!"

"And," Leo said, "even if we don't, we'll have lived good lives for those fifty years and that's a great accomplishment right there."

"And," Rocky added, smiling serenely, "just because you said that, we're going to make Casey's initiation even worse."

RJ rolled his eyes as the other men laughed and resumed eating the pizzas.


	3. Garlicless

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**3: Garlic-less**

**by JDPhoenix**

Camille feigned a yawn. She wasn't really bored, far from it actually. The Rinshis were hopping around, terrifying the populace and the Rangers were late. Dai Shi would not accept this. If the Rangers didn't show he would expect her to go out and find them. Ten thousand years in a box had put him in a bad mood, no matter that she had spent ten thousand years in a wall, she still had to do all the work. She was just about to transform and blow something up when two men caught her eye -- at least she thought they were men. The Rinshis were attacking them, but they weren't taking it the way most humans did. The attempted to fight off the Rinshis with crude, ineffective jabs, kicks, and punches. They looked quite comical and she even felt a giggle welling up within her, though she would never admit it. The one with the long, curly hair was making faces of extreme concentration and crying out each time he tried to hit someone. The other one looked like the child of a gargoyle and a troll, though his fighting was slightly better than his companion's. He suddenly caught sight of her across the street and perked up immediately. He waved giddily while dodging a Rinshi. He grabbed his friend, pulled him out of the mess of Rinshis and the two came running towards her.

"Sugar toad!" the ugly one called. He grabbed her up in a hug, spun her around, then dropped her down and kissed her quickly on the lips.

Camille was frozen in disgust. She stared at the deformed creature before her. Now that he was closer she realized his parents were probably a troll and a goblin, not a gargoyle. No, she decided, he was far too ugly to have a gargoyle for a parent -- and it was daytime anyway.

The one with the curly hair panted and said, "Sweetheart, we were so worried."

"Not for ourselves, of course," the ugly one said, puffing out his chest, "but for you and -- where's your mother?"

The curly haired one looked around frantically. "Please tell me she isn't off fighting the evil. She's not as powerful as she used to be."

"Sweetums, what did you do to your hair? And your makeup? And your clothes?"

This was when Camille finally found her voice again. "Who are you imbeciles?" she cried.

The two men fell back, holding each other for support in their fear.

"Well, Leelee," the curly haired one said slowly, "he's your boyfriend, and I'm your stepfather-to-be. Don't you remember? We came here to tell my parents about the wedding?"

Camille spoke slowly so that the obviously mad men could understand. "My mother is dead--"

The ugly one said, "Used to be dead, you mean."

"--and she would never have married you." She turned to the ugly one with a glare that could easily turn a Rinshi to dust on the spot. "And I most certainly would _never_, in ten thousand ten thousand years, associate myself with you!"

Camille breathed heavily. She had never been so thoroughly insulted in her life.

The two men looked at one another for support.

"Leelee," the supposed father-to-be said.

She cut him off. "Rinshis! Kill them!"

"She's obviously been brainwashed."

"Just like Leanbow," her "boyfriend" agreed.

Camille amended her order. "Slowly and painfully!"

Luckily for the two men the Rangers chose just that moment to show up, distracting Camille and the Rinshis.

* * *

RJ held a mop before him as if it were a weapon. He had the two women trapped in the corner of the restaurant. Theo had been the one to notice that their difficult customers were more than just difficult -- they were downright evil. RJ had to admit, he was impressed with the speed that the Rangers had responded to their enemy's presence in the restaurant. Though, he would have preferred that Theo get rid of Fran before attacking the customers, it was so hard to come up with explanations that would satisfy the girl. Now she was in the back, counting pennies and thinking he was busting a couple of dine-n-dashers. He prayed she didn't get curious. 

"Let us go," the older woman said, standing before her daughter.

"Listen, ma'am," RJ said as respectfully as he could, "I understand your confusion, but there is something _seriously_ wrong with your daughter." He wasn't sure why Camille had decided to impersonate this girl. Maybe they really did look alike and it was just easier, maybe he could see through her disguise because he knew her, maybe the mother was just really stupid, he didn't know, but he knew she was Camille. There was no way evil energy like that could surround any human.

"My daughter is perfectly healthy!"

RJ spun the mop around and leaned against it like a cane. "There are some seriously evil energies surrounding your daughter. My guess: some evil force took her over when you entered town. It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure I can figure out a way to return her to normal."

The woman's face froze and she turned to her daughter. They exchanged a sympathetic look and nodded. They slid into the nearest booth, the daughter first, then the mother, who gestured to RJ to join them. RJ decided there wasn't much they could do to them trapped in a booth, he could always shove the table into their bellies and run away. He sat down, keeping the mop in his hands on the table, the dirty end hanging off the side.

"How did you know my daughter was evil?"

RJ's eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. "You -- you knew?"

"Oh, yes," the woman said proudly, "it's a family trait." She held out a dainty hand. "Nikki Pimvare, this is my daughter, Leelee."

"Pimvare?" RJ asked, trying to keep his cool and not run screaming for the nearest exit. It had been a long time since he'd been terrified, even the return of Dai Shi and the prospect of taking in three teenagers hadn't phased him, but this was enough to have him sleeping with the light on for the next three months.

Leelee giggled. RJ turned wide eyes on her, then rolled them and threw the mop across the room, into its bucket. If they were going to kill him, there wasn't much he could do. "What are you doing here?"

"You haven't answered my question," Nikki said.

"I'm a member of the Pai Zhuq -- that, and your daughter looks a lot like this villainess named Camille."

"Figures," Leelee sighed, "Xander says that Conner's girlfriend looks just like Claire. Maybe it's because we're from the Mystic Realm."

"Maybe," Nikki agreed. She smiled warmly at RJ. "We're not here to hurt anyone," she assured him, "I gave up my powers to save two of the Mystics and Leelee's never been much for evil. We're here to meet my fiancé's parents."

RJ pointed at the two of them. "Does he know -- ?"

"Oh, yes. I actually kidnapped him once when I was evil."

RJ shook his head. Love like that was hard to find. Before he could come up with another question the door rang. He jumped up to greet the returning Rangers. They ran at him, eager to tell him about their battle. It was the best part of being a mentor: getting to hear how the things he had taught them were just what they needed to defeat the forces of evil.

"RJ!" Theo said. "You should have seen them!"

"They were so --" Lily began, looking to Casey for the word.

"Stupid!" Theo finished.

"Who?" RJ asked, confused. Rinshis weren't nearly smart enough to be stupid.

The door rang again and two men rushed inside to collapse against the counter.

"Water!" one cried, while his companion fell to the floor.

"Them," Theo said.

"Toby!"

"Phineas!"

The Pimvares ran to the men's sides.

"RJ!" Lily cried, clutching his sleeve so hard he wondered why it didn't rip. "What are they doing here?"

"Oh," he said with a smile, "they're not evil, they're vampires."

The Rangers looked at each other while RJ, still smiling, went to get the men water and to have Fran make a special garlic-less pizza for their guests.

"Does anyone know where we can find a straitjacket?" Casey asked quietly.

* * *

Camille returned to the lair, ready for whatever punishment Dai Shi chose to give her after her defeat. She knelt before the throne, the Rinshis at her back unusually still in fear. Dai Shi stared down at her imperiously, she could feel his eyes on the top of her head. In her mind she kept a steady mantra: "say something, say something, say something." The silence was torture. Finally, he acknowledged her presence, with a laugh. She looked up at him sharply in fear -- Dai Shi did not laugh for good reasons. Finally, he gasped out two words among his hearty guffaws: "Sugar toad!" Camille turned redder than a tomato. She was not sure if it was from fury or embarrassment. 


	4. Hurricane Deluxe

A/N: I know some things are left unsaid in this chapter, that's why the next chapter is a special-less interlude dedicated to explaining the things RJ won't let me explain here. It's more fun this way. Also, I've been getting a lot of requests that I cross JF over with other parts of the fandom. While I do love the suggestions I would love an actual review even more. It's one thing to add a suggestion to a review, but another to give only the suggestion. I make no promise that I will use your suggestions though. This is the final chapter I'd had planned when I first conceived of this story and if any more comes I will be very happy.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**4: Hurricane Deluxe**

It was the usual mid-morning lull. The college students with odd sleep schedules and middle-aged men who were too lazy to cook breakfast were all gone. The only thing to do was prepare for the 12:32 rush. Fran and RJ were in back, grating, chopping, mixing, and kneading. The three rangers were cleaning the tabletops, floors, and chairs. RJ wanted everything to shine like their helmets. The door chimed and the rangers all popped up, pausing their work to see who it was. Three people, only a few years older than the rangers, walked in.

"This is a bad idea," the boy in blue said.

"But, Kyle," the girl in red said, taking a good wiff of the tomato scented air, "can't you just taste it?"

The final member of the group, a shaggy-haired boy in yellow, threw his arms around the others' shoulders and pushed them in. "It'll be worth it," he said, "I promise."

Lily and Theo jumped up and raced across the room, stopping the customers before they could make it past the "Please, Seat Yourself," sign. When they realized that Casey wasn't with them the two waved him over frantically. The girl and boy in red and blue were glaring at Lily and Theo while the one in yellow just looked confused. Casey could sympathize.

"Um," Casey said, "welcome to --" Lily hit him in the gut and he doubled over. Pretty much everyone but the boy in yellow ignored Casey's pain, but the boy wasn't concerned enough to risk being hit himself.

"Kyle," Theo growled.

"Theo," the boy returned.

"Tally," Lily said.

"Lily."

The last boy looked at Casey, who had straightened up but was still clutching his stomach. The boy quickly held out his hand and, with a half smile, said, "Eric."

Casey took the hand. "Casey." The other four slapped their arms down.

"Hey!" Casey and Eric cried.

"Eric," Tally said, "don't you recognize them? They're Pai Zhuq."

"Oh," Eric said slowly, "Pie Show, right." He nodded, obviously with no idea who they were.

"Casey," Lily said, "these are students from the Wind Ninja Academy." Her voice dripped disdain when she mentioned the academy.

Theo added, "We've been feuding for over a hundred years."

"Why?" Casey asked.

Lily and Theo exchanged a look. Kyle and Tally turned to Eric. "Don't look at me," he said.

"RJ will know," Theo said confidently.

Before he could run to get their master the doors slammed open and a great gust of wind sent the six students flying into the counter. The building shook, the hanging lamps swayed back and forth, and a jar of garlic vibrated right off the counter and smashed on the floor. Three figures marched through the doors, each wearing the traditional uniform of a ninja master. The three ninja students cowered. Lily and Theo leapt to their feet, adopting their favorite fighting stances.

"Get out of here, Winds," Theo practically snarled.

"And take your novice students with you," Lily added.

Tally made a sound of disapproval, but the blonde master cut her off.

"Quiet, kitties," she said, "I'm a Water Master, if you hadn't noticed. I'd hate to get you wet."

"Cheetah Spirit," Lily sneered, "I don't mind it."

"I do," Casey said, holding up a hand. The masters smiled down at him, trying and failing to hide their silent laughter. Casey tugged at Theo's hand. "Hey, are these the bad guys? 'Cause if they aren't, I don't see --"

RJ called from the kitchen, "Cubs! What are you doing? I had to convince Fran that it was an earthquake and she should go ho--" He stepped through kitchen doors and paused. "I guess it _was_ an earthquake." He bowed slightly. "Sensei Clarke, Sensei Brooks, Sensei _Bradley_," he finished with a smile. "That must not be confusing for your students."

Sensei Brooks fell out of his severe stance and into a more casual one. "Dude, before the wedding, both schools had petitions circulating to keep her from taking his name."

Sensei Clarke laughed. "Marah and Kapri used all those pages of signatures to fold the origami beetles and dolphins for the reception."

"I'd wondered why they had writing on them," RJ said.

"Could you give us a minute, RJ? We've got some business to deal with."

RJ nodded and opened his arms wide, inviting them to take control of the situation. Sensei Clarke shot a blast of wind at the bathrooms and Eric, who had been trying to crawl to safety, yelped.

"Hello, _Eric_," Sensei Clarke said, an evil glint in his eye.

"Oh, no!" Sensei Brooks said, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "He's wearing _my_ color."

"But he isn't _your_ color, he's _mine_. Hence the point of this whole excursion."

"Wait, what--" Lily and Tally said, pausing when they realized they were saying the same thing.

Eric used the surrounding confusion to leap super-fast over the counter in a burst of red light and land, kneeling, at RJ's feet. "Asylum! I'm begging! Give me asylum."

"Um," RJ said, "this isn't a church."

Sensei Bradley had joined the fight over who would punish Eric, Theo tried to intercede on the fight between Lily and Tally, and RJ tried to explain to Eric the difference between a church and a pizza parlor. Casey had never known such chaos. He looked around for some sort of respite and his eyes fell on the clock. The hour and minute hands read 12:31, while the second hand flew unhindered towards the 12 and the beginning of the rush. Casey ran on all-fours across the room, grabbed the door handle, pulled himself up, tore the OPEN sign off its chain, ducked outside, and slammed the doors behind him. The first rush customers were not six inches away and many more were coming.

"We're closed," he gasped, his wide eyes making the would-be customers step back. "Big yeast recall, all our dough is bad. We'll have more tomorrow."

The crowd dispersed, shaking their heads and muttering how they had or hadn't heard about the falsified recall. Casey waited until they had all disappeared around corners or into buildings before going back inside. He locked the door behind him and watched the continuing conflicts. The senseis were chasing Eric around RJ, who was trying to grab the boy and yelling at him that he was not a human shield. Lily and Tally were out and out fighting, while Theo stood in the corner, his head tilted back, blood running from his nostrils. Casey couldn't take it. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before this conflict brought the parlor crashing down around them. He did the only thing he could think to do: he reached down within himself, called on his animal spirit, and roared. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him, their faces betraying emotions ranging from fear to relief to humor.

"Why," Casey asked, his voice shaking from the excess energy he drawn up, "if we're feuding with the Wind Academy, was RJ at Sensei Bradley's wedding?"

RJ smiled. "Wonderful deduction, Casey." He pushed Eric away before stepping forward and speaking to all of the students, not just his own. "Long ago, back when the various martial arts schools were formed, the leaders of the schools hated each other -- each claimed that the others' schools were stealing students that should have been their's. This was back in the day when the schools only had a couple dozen students, not like now. And thus the feud was born."

"So how did it end?" Lily asked.

"And why didn't you tell us?" Tally added.

"That's the best part," Sensei Brooks said happily. RJ grabbed the closest thing at hand, which happened to be a metal napkin holder, and threw it at Sensei Brooks' head. The sensei yelped, ducking out of the way just in time.

RJ said, not at all apologetically, "Not everyone's students are one test shy of graduation."

The three senseis nodded. "Sorry, bro," Sensei Clarke said, helping Brooks up.

"Why can't you tell us?" Theo asked.

"Because," Sensei Bradley said, "the story can sort of be used as an excuse not to listen to your master."

"Really?" the students all asked happily.

RJ ignored them. "Why are you trying to kill your student, if I may ask?"

Sensei Bradley's arm shot out faster than even Lily could follow and she grabbed Eric by the ear. The boy cried out, his body contorting to keep his ear from being ripped off. "This isn't our student," Sensei Bradley said, "it's his twin brother, Conner, one of Tommy's students."

"Oh," RJ said with a smile and a nod. "The old having someone else take your final exam trick? Always better with a twin." RJ paled, realizing that he was surrounded by his own students. He jumped around, pointing at them and giving them his most teacher-like glare. "And it is very, very evil. Whoever does it should be punished severely."

"Dude!" Conner cried, then yelped. He'd moved in a way that his ear didn't like.

Sensei Clarke shook his head. "We warned you that having students would make life harder, but you just wouldn't listen."

"Yeah, 'cause when the earth was crashing down around you, you three totally took the time to stop and consider the wisdom of becoming rangers."

"You guys are rangers?" Casey asked, stepping forward. RJ spun, grabbed the back of Casey's collar, and easily threw the boy into a booth, far away from the ninjas.

"No!" RJ said as if talking to a pet. He pointed one arm behind him, straight at Sensei Clarke. "I already told the others, no initiation until the world is safe." He turned with a smile. "I don't want the kid disillusioned just yet."

Sensei Clarke held up his hands. "Whatever you say, man. Hey, where's Kyle?"

Everyone looked around. The third ninja student had been there before the battle, but no one knew where he had gone.

From the kitchen came a girlish cry of, "Who are you?"

Everyone ran to the kitchen and RJ somehow managed to push through the ninjas to make it to the front. Fran was standing in the back doorway, fearfully watching Kyle eat tomato sauce with his hands.

"Food," he said. "_Food_."

"Fran," RJ said slowly, "this is a, um, boy scout. He just got back from this huge camping trip thing where they ran out of food. He's really hungry."

"Uh huh," Fran said, nodding her head in a way that seemed more like shuddering and less like agreement.

A loud squeaking came from the ovens that separated the kitchen from the restaurant and Casey looked through. "Fran," he said, "we're closed for the day so you can go home."

Fran nodded again and hurried out the door. RJ bent down to look Casey in the eye, "What do you mean 'we're closed for the day'?"

"Well --"

"Where's Conner?" Sensei Bradley yelled. Conner had disappeared shortly after hearing Fran's confused cry.

"I will kill that boy," Sensei Clarke said, racing out the front door.

"Not if I get to him first," Sensei Brooks said, right on his heels.

Sensei Bradley turned to her two remaining students. "Go back to the school _now_. We'll deal with you later." She ninja streaked out the door.

"You heard her," RJ said, grabbing Kyle's arm and pulling him off the counter. "The two of you had better hurry. I've seen your senseis fight and Conner can only hold their attention so long." Kyle walked slowly towards the door. He and Tally were in no hurry to get away from the food. "Wait!" RJ added, pulling a pizza out of the oven. "It's a new recipe that I was trying out. It should give you some much needed energy."

"Thanks," Kyle said, practically bouncing with excitement as RJ slid the pizza in its box.

"Tell me what you think when you get through with your punishment. If you like it, maybe I'll name it the Hurricane Deluxe. Now get out of here before they bring a natural disaster down on my livelihood." The ninja students nodded and disappeared in twin streaks of light. RJ hurried up the stairs.

"RJ," Lily called tentatively.

"I'm going to sit in my chair. You three clean and figure out a way to make up for the lost profits from today."

"But --" Theo said.

"No fighting with other schools, no talking to other rangers, no disturbing you master while he sits in his chair!"

The three students looked at each other. Casey was the first to resume cleaning.

"How can you be so calm?" Theo asked.

"We're students from a secret martial arts academy who, in one day, saw our master be killed by an ancient evil force, moved to a new city, became pizzeria employees, and became power rangers. I'm surprised you two haven't learned to cope yet."

Lily and Theo turned to each other. Lily smiled and rushed forward to give Casey a quick hug. "The cub has surpassed the initiates. I'm so proud."

Theo shook his head and grabbed a mop. "At least we don't have to camp out in the wilderness to graduate."

"Here, here," Lily and Casey agreed.


	5. Grilla Gorilla

AN: I was going to give you all a special-less chapter, but it was bad -- at least that's the idea I got. So that went quickly away. Sorry this took so long. I just felt so bad about the other chapter that I couldn't bear to think about the story. Oh, and because everyone's complaining -- but that means you're paying attention so yay! -- Rocky wore the first red ranger suit.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**5: Grilla Gorilla**

**by JDPhoenix**

Lily loved Wednesday night. Very few people ordered pizza on Wednesday which meant RJ just closed up shop to avoid hemorrhaging money. He had even decided that this was the night for "quality time." He claimed that while Lily was a valued member of the team, the men needed to be men. Lily couldn't agree more. RJ, Theo, and Casey were currently being men in the nearby woods and Lily could still hear Theo whining about his dislike of camping. She was all alone in the shop. Sure, she had to clean everything by herself -- Fran had Wednesday nights off too -- but she didn't mind. Living with three men was hard and she valued this one night a week to herself.

The radio was turned all the way up and her favorite song was playing. She danced as she mopped, reveling in the tranquility of the night.

Three loud bangs echoed through the restaurant and the door shuddered in its hinges with each of them. Lily whirled around, using every ounce of control she had to keep from releasing her cheetah spirit on the idiot who couldn't read.

A man with dark hair was clutching a black jacket tightly closed against the cold. Lily blinked, she hadn't noticed the rain starting up. She smiled at the thought of Theo and Casey huddling in the freezing rain while RJ sat happily inside the tent. Her smile faded when the man banged the door again. Lily's eyes flashed in anger and she pointed at the sign. The man put his hands together and gave him his best puppy dog look. Between the pleading and the way the rain made his hair fall in his eyes Lily was won over. She could easily defend herself if he turned out to be a maniac and he probably only wanted pizza anyway. She quickly unlocked the door and the man rushed in, giving a ragged sigh as the warm air hit him. He ran straight to the counter and began studying the menu.

Lily closed the door slowly, confused by his odd behavior. "Sir?" she asked, coming up behind him. "The ovens are off, but I can make you some pasta if --"

"No," he said quickly, "it needs to be pizza."

Lily walked around the counter, careful to keep her distance from the man. "I really can't--"

"What's that banana pizza? Is it any good?"

"Yes, if you like bananas and grease."

The man met her eyes and she had the strange feeling that she'd met him somewhere before. "They'll love that," he said. "Can I try a slice?"

"I already told you," Lily sighed, "the ovens are _off. _I can't make you a pizza."

"I need this pizza."

"I'm sorry, sir, but --"

"No!" he said so forcefully that she took a step back. He blinked and looked a bit sheepish. "You don't understand," he said, running a hand through his dripping hair. "Do you know who I am?"

Lily looked at him carefully. She was sure she'd seen him before. He was probably famous. She was about to ask if he was the weatherman from channel eight when it dawned on her. "You're Carlos Espinoza!"

Carlos nodded with a smile. He took a deep breath and began pacing, telling her his whole complicated story. "Every year the other Astro Rangers and I get together with some of our other superhero friends, some mutant turtles from New York. The turtles love pizza and we've gotten into this competition over who can bring the best kind. I've been scouring the entire California coast for a pizza that can impress those darned terrapins. I thought all hope was lost until a few days ago when I went to a dojo back in Angel Grove. This robot that used to help the Rangers out was reactivated last year and he's been working in the dojo some of the Rangers own ever since. We started sparring and Ro-- the second Red Ranger happened to mention that my friend TJ probably wouldn't be coming to the gathering this year. When I asked why he said that all the Red Rangers had gotten together and forced TJ to eat a pizza with a melted Red Ranger action figure in it. TJ always tells this stupid story about how we almost got baked into a giant pizza."

Lily nodded, she had heard it.

"Anyway, Ro-- the first Red Ranger went on to say that the pizza place they'd gone to for this unspeakable meal was really nice and had some wacky pizzas. It took me a while to get the address, Reds haven't been good with directions since To-- the Red Zeo Ranger took up the color. I finally managed to find you guys and I need that pizza so I can shove it in the turtles' faces!"

Lily blinked, slowly taking the whole story in. She didn't want to fire up the ovens. For only one pizza it would cost her money to cook it and ever since Casey gave Fran that raise, RJ had been more frugal. "How many?" she asked finally.

"Thirty," the man said promptly.

Lily's eyes widened beyond the safe limit.

"The turtles can really pack it away and we usually end up going out and fighting some sort of evil halfway through and then we're even hungrier."

Lily was still trying to figure out if they had enough bananas when she asked, "When do you need them by?"

"As soon as possible."

"Okay," Lily said dazedly, as she walked back into the kitchen. "I may have to run out and buy some bananas!" she called.

"That's okay!" Carlos said. And with a wicked grin he added, "And if any monsters attack the city, I'll take care of them for you so you can finish!"

The sound of the sauce pan falling to the floor was enough to make Carlos' day, even if he didn't win the pizza war.


	6. Scary Special

AN: Finals are over, final projects and papers are turned in. I'm free! And this is what you get!

Oh! And the orange thing (you'll know it when you get there) isn't mine it belongs to Crazygirl47 and the other wonderful authors of "Of Love and Bunnies." It's pretty much the longest story in the PR section and it's on almost everyone's favorite story list (including mine). If you haven't read it: find it, read it, you will die laughing just from the first chapter. Also, I hope the writers of that wonderful story do not mind my small homage to them in here. If any of them do (and happen to read my story), please tell me and I'll change it. Thank you.

Spoilers for Ghost of a Chance.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**6: Scary Special**

"At least my fear was justified," Theo said, laying back on his yoga mat.

"Justified?" Lily cried, pulling the smaller boy up by his collar.

"Our fears were justified!" Casey cried.

RJ and Fran were up in the kitchen area, watching the rangers with looks of mixed humor and horror on their faces. The protectors of the world weren't exactly awe-inspiring.

"Okay," Theo consented, "Lily's fear was justified. Spiders are scary."

"Thank you," Lily said with a smile.

"What about me?" Casey asked.

"You were afraid of the monster in your closet," Theo said. "Everyone knows there's nothing in there."

"Oh, really? Do you have any idea where I'm from, Theo?"

Theo shook his head and Casey smirked, knowing before he even began his story that he'd won the argument.

* * *

Casey, poor innocent little Casey, grew up in Angel Grove, California. Now, it wasn't a bad town to grow up in, but it tended to bring all sorts of chaos down around its residents and when there's enough chaos floating around in the air, you don't have much choice but to breathe some of it in.

Most children growing up in Angel Grove in the nineties were rather well adjusted. They knew that there was unspeakable evil in the world and they knew that the Power Rangers would protect them from it. So Casey was never really afraid of the forces of darkness until the night they came knocking on his door.

Casey sat under the covers of his bed, a flashlight in hand and the newest Beetleborg comic draped across his crossed legs. It was well past bedtime but he absolutely had to know if the Blue Beetleborg could defeat Shadowborg, not knowing at school the next day would be worse than not breathing after all. He was just getting to the climactic battle when--

Bam!

Casey nearly jumped out of his skin. In the quiet of the house he hadn't been expecting a noise, especially one so loud. He pulled his covers down and shone the light around his room. His VR Trooper action figures were still laying across the floor, happily enacting a battle that would wait until morning to be finished, but aside from them nothing was out of place.

Bam!

Casey swung the flashlight towards the closet just in time to hear a gruff voice say, "Quiet, Goldie!"

"You're the one who keeps knocking the board games down."

"Ooh, Candyland!"

Casey heard a slap and a thump, apparently Goldie had knocked the board game out of the other intruder's hand.

"This is not the time for games! We have to capture the White Ranger!"

Casey wasn't sure who would be looking for the White Ranger, but he felt it was only right to tell them they had the wrong closet. He slowly climbed out of bed, maneuvering carefully around the battlefield as he crossed the room.

"I know that. Trust me, Goldie, I can smell the Tiger in that room. All we have to do is --"

Casey opened the door and shone the light straight into the faces of a gold-armored gorilla and a walking skeleton painted in camouflage colors. The two looked down at him for a moment before the gorilla smacked the flashlight out of his hand.

"Didn't your mother tell you not to shine those in people's eyes."

"Didn't your mother tell you not to break into little boy's closets in the dead of night?"

The skeleton laughed. "He got you good, Goldie!"

"Goldie" smacked him into the back wall of the closet, making several of Casey's dress shirts and another board game fall to the floor.

"You're going to wake my parents up."

"We're looking for the White Ranger," "Goldie" said.

"Yeah," the skeleton added, "do you have a long-haired older brother who's really good at martial arts and wears a lot of white?"

"No." Casey turned around and walked back to his bed.

The two monsters looked at one another. The skeleton ducked just as "Goldie" went to hit him again.

"All right, kid," the skeleton said, "I believe you, but our bosses won't. So, you see, I'm going to have to make sure you're telling the truth."

"How?" Casey asked, a small bit of fear creeping into his voice. The Power Rangers probably should have shown up by now and he was getting worried.

"Well, just in case the White Ranger ever comes here, we have to leave a present for him."

"What kind of present?"

"Goldie" smiled wickedly and in a flash of golden light and flame the two were gone and the closet doors swung closed of their own accord.

Casey blinked. That was anticlimactic. The flashlight was still on the closet floor, shining its light inside. He knew he'd get in trouble if he wore out the batteries after only one day. He quietly crossed the battlefield once more and was just reaching for the handle when a massive growl rang out, making the doors rattle on their hinges as an unearthly green light emanated from the closet. From that day on Casey could never open his closet door after dark.

* * *

"The Power Rangers' enemies put a monster in your closet?" Theo asked.

"Yup."

"That is the dumbest thing I ever heard!"

"What?"

"You honestly expect me to believe that two hardened evil villains would mistake you for the White Ranger just because of your Tiger spirit?"

"No, I expect you to believe that I grew up in Angel Grove, the capital city of the land of Freakvania! Weird shit happens there and you never know why. Really, a couple years ago there was this whole debacle with an orange chimpanzee."

"Yeah, right," Theo said, crossing his arms.

"I'm serious, Theo, you spend one day in my town and the weird will find you. It always does."

"Whatever."

"That's it!" Casey roared. "Road trip! Now! RJ, we're taking the delivery van!"

RJ ignored the giggling Fran and leapt over the railing to land directly in front of Casey. "Hold it, little Tiger, I can't let you go home."

"Why not?" Casey asked, his previous ire forgotten.

RJ looked almost guilty as he said, "Because you might run into another Red Ranger and I can't allow them to initiate you into their fold until after Dai Shi has been defeated."

"'Initiate me into their fold'?" Casey asked.

RJ put an arm around Casey's shoulders. "They are some weird guys and I refuse to let them destroy your image of what a Red Ranger should be until after you've finished saving the world. Trust me," he said, happily holding Casey at arm's length, "it's for the best. I mean, think of what happened just because you and one of the Red Rangers have similar spirits."

"But that was the White Ranger," Lily said as RJ walked out of the room.

"And the Green Ranger and the Red Zeo Ranger and the Red Turbo Ranger and the Black Dino Ranger. You really don't want to get involved with these people unless you can help it."

"I'll keep that in mind."


	7. Pink Special

Spoilers: Friends Don't Fade Away

AN: You may want to reaquaint yourself with the events of last chapter in order to fully understand some of what's going on.

AN2: Casey's last name has yet to be revealed (when I write this) so don't get all angry at me because it's wrong. I'll probably fix it when/if they ever reveal what it actually is but if/when I don't I hope you understand. Also, the weekend which Casey refers to is totally of my creation and also mentioned in my story The Mastadon in Switzerland in case any of you are interested.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**#7 Pink Special**

"RJ?" Fran called, hurrying up the stairs to the loft.

"Yes, Fran?" RJ asked calmly. He was standing on his head in the middle of the loft, his students clustered warily around him.

"All those rangers that kept showing up -- they were because of you guys, right?"

"Yes, Fran."

"Oh, good, because there are some more here now and they want to talk to you. They said something about an initiation."

RJ flipped easily over, an eager smile on his face. "It must be the Sixths. I can't wait."

"Hold it!" Casey cried, leaping up and grabbing RJ's elbow before he could hurry away. "You said I couldn't be initiated by the Reds."

RJ patted Casey's shoulder consolingly. "That's because Reds are psychotic, self-sacrificing madmen and I don't want you exposed to their kind of chaos until _after_ you've saved the world. Otherwise it could scar you for life."

"What are the Sixths like?" Theo asked.

"Dashing, rugged lone wolves with a devil-may-care attitude. My kind of people. Sure, they're more likely to be corrupted by the forces of darkness -- I blame the original Green Ranger, he was the first Sixth and set the bar for the rest of us -- but I've already been evil so how bad could it be? And anyway," he added as he went down the steps, "not all of them turn evil. The Green Samurai Ranger never did, nor did the Silver Astro Ranger …." As his voice faded away Fran erupted into giggles.

"What's up, Fran?" Lily asked.

"Unless my research into past rangers has been grossly flawed, RJ's in for a big surprise."

"Why?" Theo asked, his shoulders tensing.

Before Fran could answer RJ's strangled cry echoed up to them. As the rangers rushed down to help their friend Fran began giggling once more.

* * *

RJ could not believe it. Instead of the cornucopia of colors he had expected to be met by there was only one. One overwhelming, vaguely sickening color that made him want to rush upstairs and crawl under the covers until they left. But no, it wasn't possible. There must have been some miscommunication. Maybe they were just here to deliver a message.

"All of them?" the logical part of his mind asked.

"Shut up, you!" the desperate, near-whimpering part of his mind snapped before curling in on itself to await whatever horrible fate was about to befall RJ.

He took a deep, steadying breath and said loudly, "What are all of you doing here?"

Every single head turned to look at him. A doe brown one rose and RJ gulped, trying to remind himself that he was a warrior and thus should be more inclined to the fight side of the fight or flight instinct. The woman sauntered up to the counter and leaned across it with a small pout.

"I thought that cute girl with the glasses would have told you? We're here for your initiation."

RJ let out a weak laugh. "I thought rangers were supposed to be initiated by other rangers who held their same color."

A smattering of giggles filled the room.

"They are. Who else would you expect?"

RJ's eyes widened and the color -- that horrible, terrible color -- overwhelmed his vision. He cried out and collapsed.

The three rangers and Fran erupted through the swinging doors a moment later and it was only by some miracle that they didn't trample RJ's prone form.

"What happened here?" Lily cried, glaring at the woman at the counter while Theo checked RJ's pulse and Casey took up a defensive stance.

The woman smiled, taking in Lily's yellow t-shirt. "Ah, you should probably be careful. Trini should be calling you soon."

"Who's Trini?" Lily asked warily.

"Hey," Casey said, dropping into a more casual posture, "I know you!"

The woman winced slightly and several of the other women in the room either shot her sympathetic looks or rolled their eyes in aggravation.

"You're Kim Hart!" Casey continued.

The woman nodded vaguely. Apparently people recognized her a lot.

"You don't remember me, do you?" Casey asked.

This got Kim's attention. "Should I?"

"Casey Shepherd, Sarah's little brother," he said, holding out his hand.

Kim's eyes lit up. "No way! You're little Casey Shepherd?" She came around the counter to pull him into a hug. "Guys," she said, turning to her fellow Pink Rangers, "this is the kid with the monster in his closet."

"What?" Theo cried. "That was real?"

Casey smiled superiorly while Kim glared at Theo. "Of course it was real."

Kat crossed her arms and gave Theo a look that could melt steel. "The citizens of Angel Grove know better than to joke about monster attacks."

"Sure," Cassie said, "we make fun of the forces of darkness every chance we get, but that's just to make them angry and stupid during battle."

"Wait," Lily said, "you guys are all Pink Rangers?"

"Yup," Dana said, "from the very first --" Kim held up a hand -- "to the most recent --" Rose, who was sitting with Kendrix and intently studying something on her laptop screen, held up her hand.

"So why are you here for --" Lily's eyes widened and she burst out laughing.

"This is a historic occasion," Alyssa said, "the first male Pink."

"RJ's purple," Theo said, crossing his arms.

Jen sighed. "We know, but we talked to the Sixths and they don't want him. They say that his uniform is a bright enough purple that it's practically pink."

"And we agree," Karone said happily. "We were always really glad that there were no male Pinks because it gave us something special."

"But," Karone said, "RJ's not really Pink, he's just a 'close enough.'"

"So now we have a boy," Cassie added.

"And we don't," Kim finished. "We are very happy with this arrangement. Now we just have to initiate him."

"You mean knocking him out wasn't enough?" Theo asked.

"We didn't knock him out," Vida said haughtily, "he fainted."

* * *

"I did not faint!" RJ cried. "Pai Zhuq masters do not faint! They play possum."

"Keep telling yourself that, RJ," Fran said, handing him a piece of pizza. "At least the other rangers are keeping the Pinks distracted. Maybe they'll forget about your initiation."

RJ huffed. "They'll never forget. They're women."

Fran threw the rest of the pizza into his face and stormed away from the corner booth. RJ watched as she joined Lily, who was asking Kendrix, Karone, Dana, and Jen about the other Yellows. Theo, it seemed, was very against the color Pink and had gone back upstairs to meditate until the insanity subsided. Casey though, was the life of the party.

"Oh, yeah," Kim laughed, "I remember when Sarah had to babysit him on the same day as my birthday party. I told her to just bring him."

Casey covered his face with a hand.

"That was the first time I saw a --"

"Please!" Casey cried. "Don't ruin my reputation before I even have one."

"Oh," Kim said, hugging him around the shoulders, "but you were so cute running around naked on my front lawn."

Rose and Alyssa burst out laughing.

Casey hung his head for a second before coming back up with a smirk. "You forget, Kimberly Ann Hart, I know some stories about you too."

"Such as?"

"Such as that weekend when you were eleven and you hitchhiked to LA."

"Ooh," several of the Pink Rangers chorused.

Kim rolled her eyes and punched Casey in the shoulder. "I can't believe little Casey Shepherd's a ranger."

"Me? What about you? If I'd known you were the original Pink Ranger I would have called you when Goldar and Rito showed up in my closet! They stole my Candyland game, by the way."

"I'm sure you were traumatized," Kat said sarcastically.

"And we got to it eventually," Kim said.

"Yeah, like ten years later! I'd named the monster by then. Mr. Gruffster and I were going to win the Westminster Dog Show -- just as soon as I got up the courage to actually open the door."

"Hey," Vida said, turning away from the video game now that she'd gotten the top ten high scores, "didn't we come here to do something other than let you reminisce about your psycho hometown?"

"Because Briarwood is so normal," Cassie muttered.

"Oh yeah," Kim said, turning to RJ, but he was already crawling out the small window above his booth, his legs waving wildly as he tried to get through.

"This is the best initiation ever," Karone said.

"Definitely," Kendrix agreed.

As RJ's feet disappeared the Pink Rangers rushed out the door. That evening the news would run a story on a possible celebrity sighting in Ocean Bluff. Though no one knew who the celebrity was, the horde of women chasing him did imply that he was somehow famous -- that or there was some strange, pink-themed gang springing up in town. While the three primary colored rangers and Fran laughed at the news story RJ howled from the bathroom. He'd torn off the flowery pink dress the moment he'd gotten inside, but the make-up was taking considerably more effort to wash off. It didn't help that neither Fran nor Lily was going to give him the benefit of their feminine experience. And, RJ reminded himself as he watched the water leave black trails down his cheeks, the worst thing was that now he was a Pink Ranger and there was no living down that kind of shame.


	8. Shark Special

AN: Okay, once again, when I originally posted this chapter it took me all of two minutes to realize that it sucked and I took it down. That is why it wasn't here two days ago. That is also why you should check my profile page if you have questions. I try to keep it updated, especially when things like this happen. I'm **really** sorry, my only excuse is that I was and still am very sick. I will try never to let this happen again. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I already know what I'm doing for the next one. Let's hope it goes better.

**Jungle Karma Pizza Specials**

**8: Shark Special**

Camille sat back on the uncomfortably stiff bench, watching as the Phantom Beasts fought the rangers. Dai Shi was keeping the Spirit Rangers occupied at the rock quarry, where Camille sincerely wished she was. It wasn't just that she wanted to see Dai Shi in action, but she really hated the zoo. That's right, the zoo. Flit was having the time of his life aggravating the animals which wasn't hard considering the battle going on outside the cages, but Camille couldn't stand the shrieking and howling and chittering and --

"Camille," Flit said.

--buzzing. Camille regarded her nails.

"Camille," Flit repeated. Camille continued ignoring him. If anything happened in the battle she'd hear the explosion.

"Camille, they're leaving."

"What?" Camille cried. She leapt up and just saw the Blue Ranger disappearing into the aquarium. "Why didn't you tell me?" she snapped and raced after them.

The first room of the aquarium was a large pool where fish swam and that people could walk around. Unfortunately, many of those people were still there. The Red Ranger was attempting to move people out but the Beasts weren't making it easy on him. Luckily, two of the civilians were helping him. One even picked two small children up and ran them out of the room.

The Yellow Ranger cried, "RJ!" and Camille looked in their direction just as Unidoom sent the Purple Ranger flying into the pool. The entire battle seemed to stop as the water seethed and ultimately settled.

"Where is he?" Flit asked quietly.

* * *

RJ had never been more aware of the irony of his existence. It was bad enough that he had spent the past five years of his life trying to separate himself from the Pai Zhuq academy and his father's legacy, only to find himself a master training three cubs and saving the world. But now came the hardest blow of all: he had made the decision to kill his father to save the world and now the sharks were taking revenge. This was not fair. RJ liked sharks, they were like the wolves of the sea, but these ones didn't seem to care about that. They kept biting at his armor and holding him down. They weren't doing any damage really. The suit probably hurt their teeth more than anything else and RJ could hold his breath as long as most Navy Seals, but he really did need to return to the battle above. He gently pried the little monsters off of him and kicked up. He had barely reached the air when he realized why the little sharks had dispersed so easily. He whirled just as the great white crested the surface in pure Jaws-style.

"Stop!" a voice cried and the sound echoed in the dimly lit chamber.

Everyone -- monsters, Rangers, Camille, Flit, and RJ -- turned to see a man standing on the rocks surrounding the pool. He was slightly taller than Theo but no more heavily built, in fact, RJ was surprised that such a scrawny man was still there.

"Oh," the man said, "I was just talking to Phil, the rest of you can continue with your climactic battle."

"Who's Phil?" Camille asked.

The man pointed with his thumb in RJ's general direction.

"I'm not Phil," RJ said.

"The shark, hello?"

RJ turned and saw that the shark was sticking its head out of the water only as far as it could while keeping its gills submerged. He had never seen a shark look sheepish before and doubted he ever would again.

"He won't hurt you," the man said, "you can get out."

"Max?" Dom asked suddenly, stepping forward to get a better look at the man. "It is you! Dude!"

"Dom?" the man cried. "You're a Ranger?"

Dom, realizing he was still morphed, said, "No, I- I was talking to him." Dom pointed to Flit. "His name is Max."

Max shook his head and held a hand out over the pool. Immediately a small shark leapt gracefully over it. "Wild Force Blue," he said proudly.

"Awesome!" Dom cried.

Camille held up her hands. "This is all very touching, but can we get back to the battle?"

"Do you really want to?" Swoop asked from behind her.

"Dai Shi's already run scared," Finn said. "You probably should too."

Camille and the Phantom Beasts disappeared. Max jumped down from the rocks and looked at Theo.

"Huh," he said.

"What?" Theo asked, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, Alyssa just told me you were shorter."

Lily and Casey suppressed giggles.

"Who's your friend?" Phant asked.

Dom stepped up, throwing an arm around Max's shoulders. "This is --"

"Max!" someone bellowed. The group turned to see a large man standing across the pool, panting. "I got all the civilians to safety. Where are the monsters?"

"They're gone," Max said. "And Danny? Dom!" Max pointed at the Rhino Ranger.

Danny's face split into a wide grin. "Cool."

* * *

"So, how did you meet them?" Fran asked. She and Dom were standing behind the counter, watching while Max and Danny inhaled their third pizza. The two were regaling the cubs with stories from Turtle Cove, as well as a few anecdotes from their world tour.

"I was in Alaska and there was this herd of caribou and --" Dom shook his head. "Suffice it to say caribou do no like rhinos, sharks, or bison."

Fran giggled. "Did the mean caribou beat you up?"

"Yes!" Dom cried. "We ended up spending a week in the hospital, mostly from the frostbite, and became friends. We traveled into China together. I can't believe they're Rangers."

"Well, with how many there are, it stands to reason --"

"No," Dom said, cutting her off, "I mean I can't believe that _they're_ Rangers."

Max had just put two olives up his nose and was holding two pepperonis over his eyes. He was proclaiming himself Pizza Man, defender of all things cheesy.

"No wonder the masters left so fast," Fran sighed. "Finn probably didn't want to be associated with that."

"Now you know why I'm glad I've got the Rhino spirit," Dom said. "I'm the first Ranger to have it. There's no one out there to make me look bad."

"Aside from you."

Dom glared at her but before he could come up with a retort Danny called, "Dom! Come tell these guys about the flock of suicidal birds in Mongolia."

"Suicidal birds?" Fran asked.

Dom hung his head. "I thought the pecking would never end."

"How did you survive this long?"

"You'd be surprised at how quiet it gets when those two aren't around."


	9. Red Special Redux

AN: I told you this was coming.

Season Finale spoilers

**Jungle Karma Pizza Special 9: Red Special Redux**

Casey stopped to look back at Jarrod teaching the class. He'd been genuinely worried about Jarrod after he was freed from Dai Shi, but the older boy had come through and was slowly becoming one of Casey's best friends. A faint buzzing sounded and Casey quickly pulled his phone from his pocket. The students weren't allowed things like cell phones but Casey had been given permission to keep his only because he'd saved the world.

He ducked into the woods. It was probably Fran calling to tell him he was late for Dom's going away party.

"Hello?" he asked, pressing the phone to his ear.

_"Run."_

"What?" Casey asked, pausing and looking at the unfamiliar number. "Who is this?"

There was an aggravated sigh. _"Kim Hart! Now get your rear in gear, tiger boy. The Reds are coming for you." _

"What do you mean they're coming for me?"

_"Do you remember what the Pinks did to RJ?"_

"You mean what you did to RJ?" Casey asked, fingering the leaves of a particularly ugly fern. "Yeah, I remember."

_"The Reds will do worse." _

Casey's shook his head. "I'll be fine." Kim started to argue but Casey hung up quickly.

He used his Tiger powers to feel around him. He didn't hear anyone but then these were Rangers he was dealing with. Wait, no, now he heard something. Apparently Rangers weren't as awesome as he thought. He ran in the direction of the sound.

"Dude!" someone whined. "I wanna cover him in paint!"

Casey came slowly upon the men and climbed carefully into a tree above them to look down into the clearing where they'd gathered.

"Conner!" a man in glasses snapped. "We went over this already! You have to distract him with your speed."

"But --" Conner cried.

"Do you really want to piss us off?" someone asked and Casey started at the familiar voice. It was Shane, the Air Master from the Wind Ninja Academy. Then he remembered Eric/Conner, the twins who had caused all that trouble at JKP. He still wasn't sure which was which.

Conner cowered behind a man who Casey recognized as the unmasked Blue Astro Ranger, TJ Johnson. He vaguely remembered hearing that TJ had been a Red prior to his trip into space.

"Tommy?" TJ asked with a sigh. "How do you get him off?"

"Would that I knew," the man in the glasses muttered.

"Men!" someone yelled, climbing up on a boulder to gather the others' attention. "This is not the time for bickering. This is the time for humiliation! Now, we are going to go over there …"

"His name is Jason," a voice above Casey whispered.

Casey looked up to see a man lounging above him, playing with a slinky.

"I'm Rocky," the man said, reaching down a hand. Casey shook it dumbly. "I'm the only Red who didn't go on that insane mission to the moon."

"There was a mission to the moon?"

"Yeah, and it was the single dumbest thing they ever did. Sure, they saved the world, but the other colors were all kind of pissed about it."

"So, why aren't you attacking me?"

"I'm the sane one."

Casey eyed the slinky but said nothing. Jason had stopped talking by now and was leading the others toward the academy.

"Well," Casey said, "it was nice meeting you."

"You can't leave," Rocky said calmly.

"Why not?"

"They'll find you. Just wait it out, let them get their butts kicked elsewhere, and you'll be safe. Well, you'll have to at least kick the butt of a pre-moon-mission ranger, but that shouldn't be too big a problem."

"Why are you helping me?"

Rocky shrugged. "I'm bored."

* * *

"Wait, you want what?" the little boy asked.

The rangers looked at one another. They hadn't exactly expected to be met by a seven year-old who barely came up to most of their waists. Conner, however, was not deterred. He knelt down to the boy's level and said, in the most condescending voice any of the others had ever heard, "We want to torture and humiliate your new Tiger Master. Can you go get him for us?"

The boy looked slowly from Conner to the other men and back to Conner.

"Master Rilla," the boy called uncertainly.

"Uh oh," Carter said, seeing Rilla, followed by a whole pack of students.

"We should go," Mack said, slowly backing away.

"What is it, Nale?" Rilla asked.

Nale repeated what Conner had said and Rilla's eyes narrowed angrily. "Well then, maybe you'll settle for meeting some of Casey's students?"

"You know," Nick muttered, "I think I hear Mystic Mother calling."

"Me too," Mack said, stepping closer to his friend. The two disappeared just as Rilla ordered the crowd of students to attack.

"Can we fight little kids?" Wes asked.

"I don't think so," Andros said fearfully.

* * *

"Why do I have to beat up a ranger?"

"To gain their respect," Rocky said, twisting the slinky between his hands.

"But -- I saved the world."

Rocky sighed. "We've _all_ saved the world."

"I don't want to beat up a ranger!"

"Do you want to be hounded for the rest of your life? Never being able to turn a corner without wondering if there's a Red on the other side? Trust me, this is the only way."

Casey rolled his eyes. He highly doubted that this was the only way but Rocky had already called Kim for a character reference and Casey couldn't disagree with his sister's old friend, especially since his sisters didn't know he was a ranger yet.

"Ooh, that'll work," Rocky said suddenly. Casey pulled his eyes away from the sight of Eric and TJ being thoroughly beaten by his new cubs. Camille was standing between Cole and Jarrod, who looked torn between the desire to fight and the desire to hold onto this current good streak.

Rocky smiled at Casey and handed him the slinky. "Go beat up Cole."

"With the slinky?" Casey asked.

"If you want. I just thought you wanted it."

Casey slowly approached the three, carefully negotiating his way through the students who were eager to join the fight closer to the main entrance.

"Casey!" Camille cried when she saw him. "You have to run, they --"

"I know," Casey sighed. "Apparently I have to beat him up to keep from being humiliated."

Cole paled. "I didn't -- I never wanted to --"

Jarrod growled. "You said you were going to strip him to his underwear, cover him in red paint, and leave him in the middle of a highway."

"And," Camille added, "that you had more planned for after he got picked up by the police."

Cole gulped.

"You bring shame to all lions," Jarrod said just before Casey attacked.

Several minutes later Cole was tied up in Rocky's slinky.

"Nice one," Jason said appreciatively. His clothing was ripped and it looked like he'd been tossed in the nearby swamp, but he was smiling widely. He slapped Casey on the back. "Welcome to the club."

"Thanks, I think."

Casey's phone started buzzing once more and he quickly pulled it out. "It's probably Kim calling to make sure I'm alive," he explained to the others. "Hey, I --"

"_Casey! Where are you? Dom is leaving in a few minutes and --"_

"Fran!" Casey gasped. "Oh man, I totally forgot. The reds distracted me with their initiation! I'll be there, I promise." He turned to run out of the academy and saw Rocky. Inspiration hit him and he hurried back to Cole before rushing to Ocean Bluff.

* * *

"Wait," RJ said, "you got initiated?" Fran had just told them Casey's excuse and Dom had mentioned his own initiation.

"Oh yeah," Dom said. He pulled a letter from his pack and held it out.

RJ unfolded the letter and read it aloud. "'Dom. This letter is to inform you that you are now a member of the elusive Sixth Rangers (yes, we are aware that you are not your team's sixth ranger, that's just the name we go by). We do not have meetings. We do not go out to party. We do not embarrass our members in idiot initiation ceremonies. We live our own lives until danger strikes and we have to come in and save the other Rangers' sorry behinds. We hope to see you in battle.'" RJ paused. "There's not even a signature."

"I know," Dom said, "they're really weird. But at least I didn't get dressed up like a girl."

RJ frowned and pushed the letter back into Dom's pack before following the newly transformed Flit into the kitchen.

Dom just shook his head and checked his pack, making sure RJ hadn't wrinkled his plane tickets. He smiled, imagining the look on Fran's face when he told her about the second one.

"Hey," a soft voice said and Dom whirled to see Casey.

"Hey! I didn't think you'd make it!" The two embraced.

"You thought I'd miss your going away party? Who knows when I'll see you again?"

"I'll be around," Dom said with a shrug.

"Here," Casey said and handed him a small object.

Dom blinked at it. "What do I need a slinky for?"

"You never know when you'll need a slinky, my friend."


End file.
